Lettering: The Armory's Historiscope

This was a really fun job. I was asked to letter the sides of this device by its' creators, Second Story Interactive Studios. For the unfamiliar, the Armory, built in 1891, was purchased by Portland Center Stage, renovated, and re-opened in 2006 as The Gerding Theater.

In the grand lobby one finds The Historiscope - best described by Second Story themselves:

The Historiscope: A Raree-Show & History of the Armory is a portable peep show cabinet with two viewing portals through which visitors can peer into the Armory's colorful past. Six push buttons start playful mechanically inspired stage show animations that feature highlights from each era; following each show visitors can use the wooden joystick to reveal slides with archival pictures and information. Without any apparent signs of technology, this free-standing unit can be moved to different locations throughout the building.

The lobby is open to the public, and short of going down there and peeping yourself (I've never seen anything like it) the best way to see more, read more and even do a little peeping is at Second Story's Gerding Theater page.

It was really a matter of when to stop with this job. Other than the time constraints involved in a two sided job, I was able to proceed fairly loosely.

Looking through the viewport, the action is captured momentarily with a camera. Like I said, the real experience is worth a trip down there. There's a cafe that bakes sweets in the lobby, and it's a nice little in-town adventure.

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